HSBC reviews location of headquarters

by Gill Montia

Story link: HSBC reviews location of headquarters

HSBC is reviewing the location of its headquarters, currently a 44-storey building in London’s Canary Wharf.

According to a report in The Telegraph, discussions about the location form part of a regular three-year assessment of the group.

However, proposed changes to UK corporate tax laws have resulted in a number of leading companies moving or threatening to move overseas.

Fund manager Henderson Group has recently announced that it is heading offshore, joining Shire Pharmaceuticals and insurance firms Hiscox and Omega.

HSBC moved from Hong Kong to London in 1993 at the time it acquired Midland Bank.

It is understood that the group’s review is not primarily focused on tax issues but the bank is nevertheless one of the UK’s biggest tax payers, having contributed around £750 million in revenue last year.

Last week, chairman of Lloyd’s of London, Lord Levene of Portsoken, spoke out against the UK’s corporate tax policy, warning the Treasury that immediate action is needed to prevent a flood of companies moving to locations such as Bermuda, Dublin and Geneva.